Feeding mechanism.



UNrrn'n STATES PATENT Orrcn.

CHANCEY W. GAY, OF VEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

FEEDING MECHANISM'.

ESPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,819, dated April 28, 1903.

' Application led March 25, 1901.` Serial No. 52,821. (No model.)4

T0 all whom it Wtcty concern,.-

- Be it known that I, CHAUNCEY W. GAY, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of West Springfield, Vin the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in feeding mechanism applicable for employment in various kinds of machinery.

The invention is particularly applicable, for instance, in a machine such as illustrated and described in Letters Patent of the United States issued to me March 27, 1900, No. 645,950, which comprises mechanism for intermittently feeding forward the cardboard or strip from a roll or supply thereof Vto and subject to the action of creasing, scoring, and severing mechanismby means of which blanks for the production of paper boxes are produced. In such a machine the intermittent rotational movements imparted in longer or shorter extents to a ratchet-wheel from the rocking reciprocatory motion of a pawl-carrier is transmitted through suitable mediums of connection to the positive feed-rolls for carrying the stock forward through the ma` chine for each blank-making operation thereof. Inasmuch as it is desirable that the feed motions shall be positive and each succeeding one uniform in extent with that of the preceding, so that the blanks shall all be made of exactly the same length, it has been found necessary to providea device which is more positive, certain, anduniform in action than the well-known pawl and ratchet heretofore commonly used and one in which'there can be no such mode of action as in the ordie nary pawl-and-ratchet feed mechanism as to result in the forcible thrust of the pawl for driving the ratchet-wheel, stripping the teeth of theratchet-wheel, which teeth must be nec-- essarily small and delicate in many cases inl order to acquire a finely adjusted or regulated propulsive motion of the ratchet-wheel; and in order to acquire a feed mechanism which shall have the positive advantages hereinabove indicated as highly desirable and advantageous and which shall be devoid of the objectionable characteristics above noted I provide, in combination with the wheel,

' to drive the ratchet-wheel.

preferably a finely-toothed ratchet-wheel, to which the intermittent rotational propulsive movement is to be imparted, a swinging reciprocato'ry or oscillating pawl-carrier, a portion of which has its location `adjacentand radially beyond the toothed rim of the Wheel and which latterportion is equipped with a pawl which has bearing or engagement members arranged to embrace the thickness of the rim of the wheel and in the wr'king mo tion of the pawl-carrier to have relatively to the latter a slight degree of swinging motion, whereby to firmly grip and bind the rim of the wheel, so that thewheelmust necessarily move positively in unison with the pawl-carrier, the said 4capability for the swinging motionof the pawl relatively to its carrier on the reversed motion of the carrier enabling the pawl to pass freely back about the rim of the Wheel to assume its position for a new gripping and binding for the succeeding propulsive thrust.

The invention preferably contemplates a duplicated provision of the novel pawls and balanced and distributed, inuring to greater positiveness and ease of action and a lessened tendency to impairment or wearing out of those operative parts of the mechanism on which are imposed the brunt of the work.

The invention consists in the particular con` struction and combination orarrangement of parts, all substantially ashereinafter Afully described, and set vforth in the claims."

The present improved feed mechanism is A illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

Which- Figure l is an elevation with a part ofthe pawl-carrierand one of the gripping-pawls shown in section. This view represents the pawlsas being in their working engagements Fig. 2 is a view of a part of the mechanism shown in partial elevation and partial sectionto indicate the mode of free reversed movement of the pawl Without effect upon the ratchet-wheel. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the pawl-carrier having the duplicate grooves or sockets for the pair of pawls, one thereof being omitted, and showing a portion of the toothed rim of IOO the wheel, these parts being seen as at the opposite side from that represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the pawls.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the views.

In the drawings, C represents a wheel which is understood as the propulsion-wheel of the feed mechanism, the same being fixed on the shaft D and provided with the annular flange or rim E, exteriorly provided with the series of comparatively fine ratchet-teeth d.

B represents the pawl-carrier, constructed in the form of a centrally-hubbed barloosely mounted on the shaft D alongside the ratchetwheel C, the opposite arms or members thereof being extended radially beyond the opposite sides of the wheel and widened, as indicated at fj', to extend across and adjacent the toothed peripheral opposite portions of the wheel.

The pawl-carrier B has its rocking reciprocatory motion imparted thereto by the connecting red or link g, pivotally connected to the pawl-carrier and to the radially-adjustable slide-block h, carried by the grooved disk b, fixed on the driving-shaft A of the mechanism. By turning the screw t' to adjust the point of connection .7' nearer or farther from the center of the shaft A the throw or sweep of the pawl-carrier will be correspondingly modiiied.

The thickened portionfof the pawl-carrier, which is adjacent and in overlapping relation outside of the rim-flange of the Wheel (l, has the groove or socket m therein for the gripping or clutching pawl G. The said socket or groove for the pawl has its direction across the said offset and widened portion of the pawl-carrier, in which it is formed angularly to the radial line of the pawl-carrier and which line is tangential to a circle between the rim and axis of the wheel C.

The pawl G is in the form of a plate or flat block, having intermediate its ends the recess mwhich is extended from one edge transversely toward the other, whereby the pawl is made to comprise opposite end members o o2 to occupy positions at the outer and inner surfaces of the rim-flange of the ratchetwheel and the uniting-back p. The thickness of the pawl is slightly less than the Width of the groove or pawl-socket on, so that there may be two motions permitted to the pawlthat is, a sliding motion of the pawl in the direction of its length and a slight degree of tilting or rocking motion of the pawl in a direction across the thickness thereof.

In practice the difference between the thickness of the pawl and the width of the groove m is quite small, although sufficient for efficiency of action, and in the illustration here given the excess of the thickness of the groove over that of the pawl is somewhat eX- aggerated.

The spring q is applied for draft on the inncrend of the pawl in a direction to move the latter inwardly and also to tilt it, so as to have normally about the relations indicated in Fig. l relativelyl to the inner and outer portions of the Wheel-rim and the sides of the groove m.

As a convenient means for the application of the spring the pawl-carrier has an arm or rod t extended transversely of its radial length, to the outer hooked end of which one end of the spiral spring is interlocked, the other end of the spring having connection with the inner end of the pawl.

When the pawl-carrier has its sweep to assume a position for the new working stroke, the binding or gripping of the embracingpawl about the rim-flange of the Wheel is freed and the toothed or engagement end u of the outer mem ber o of the pawl clicks or rides freely over the outer surface of the rim, while the engagement portion 'a2 of the inner pawl member o2 rides freely over the inner surface of the rim. Now on the reversed direction when the pawl-carrier has its working sweep in the direction of the arrow at the right of Fig. l the tooth or working end u of the pawl coming into engagement with the ratchetteeth of the Wheel constitutes a fulcrum, so that thepawl may be' rocked from the point o of engagement to bring also the portion of the pawl member o2 firmly against the inner surface of the rim, this binding or gripping being in part insured by the direction of the strain of the spring q, but more positively and forcibly by the direction of the arc course of the swing of the pawl-carrier and pawl relatively to the radial length of the pawlcarrier and to the angular direction of the length of the pawl to said radial length;

While it will be apparent that the pawlcarrier having a single arm and constructed to carry and equipped with but a single pawl arranged for operation as described consti-' tutes an entirely operative and extremely desirable feeding-clutch, the duplication, as shown, is greatly to be preferred, as manifest, for the reasons that the strains are distributed, and consequently divided, and that there will be a liability of a lessened lost motion on the working thrusts.

While I am not to be absoutely limited to the employment of the rim flange of the Wheel externally ratchet-toothed, as shown, for the device will be fairly effectual with both inner and outer surfaces of the rim plain,the provision of the ratchets is preferred as tending to increased positiveness of action.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, vand desire to secure by Letters Patent, isl l. Ina feeding device, the combination with the flange-rimmed Wheel, to which rotational movement is to be intermittentlyimparted, of a pawl-carrier having back-and-forth swinging motions, a portion of which carrier has its location outside of the rim of the Wheel, and is provided with a pawl socket or groove, the direction of the length of which is angular to IOO ITO

lradial line of the wheel intersecting said grooved portion of the carrier, means for imparting the back-and-forth motion to the carrier, andthe pawl having the opposite portions o and o2 to embrace the rim, one of said portions having a supporting engagement in the said pawl-socket, and having its thickness slightly less than the width of the socket whereby it may have both an endwise play in the aforesaid angular line and a swinging motion relatively to said angular line and a spring normally acting to slide said pawl to cause the rim-embracing portions thereof to engage the rim of the wheel, substantially as described.

2. Inafeedingdevice,thecombinationwith the iiangerimmed wheel, to which rotational' movement is ,to be intermittently imparted, of a pawl-carrier having back-and-forth swinging motions, a portion of which carrier has its location outside of the rim of the wheel,'and is provided with a pawl socket or groove, the direction of the length of which is angular to radial line of the wheel intersecting said grooved-portion of the carrier, means for imparting the back-and-forth motion to the carrier, and the pawl having the opposite portions o and o2 to embrace the rim, one of said portions having a supporting engagement in the said pawl-socket, and having its thickness slightly less than the width of the socket, whereby it may have both an endwise play in the aforesaid angular line and a swinging motion relatively to said angular line, and the spring engaged at the inner end of the pawl, and operating to draw the latter endwise and to rock it relatively to its carrier, substantially as described.

3. In a feeding devi'ce,the combination with the iiange-rimmed wheel externally toothed, of a pawl-carrier mounted on the shaft of said wheel and radially extended. outside of the rim of the wheel, and constructed with the widened portion f., provided with aY pawlgroove m, the direction of the length ofwhich is angular to the radial length of the pawlcarrier, means for imparting the back-andforth motion to the carrier, and the pawl having the opposite portions o and o2 to embrace thevrim, one of said portions havingya supporting engagement in the said pawl-groove,

and having its thickness slightly less than the width of the groove, whereby it may have an endwise play in the line of its length, and a swinging motion across its length, and the spring q applied as described.

4:. In a feeding device,the combination with the shaft D having the angerimmed externally-toothed wheel C, looselymounted there on, of the pawl-carrier B, the same consisting of a bar centrally and loosely mounted on the shaft, having the opposite arms radially extended beyond the rim of the wheel and hav ing the widened portions f f which are offset and overlapped across the opposite external peripheral portions of the rim, and are comV the outer ends of the said rods t, and the in-` ner ends of the pawls, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth. y

Signed by me at Springeld, Massachusetts,

this lth'day of March, 1901. y

CHAUNCEY W. GAY.

Witnesses:

WM. S. BELLows, M. A. CAMPBELL. 

